Columbia
Penn
Zimmerman Scores 28 in Loss to Unbeaten Penn
2/10/2017 10:30:00 PM | Women's Basketball
| Score by Quarter | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final |
| Penn | 12 | 21 | 15 | 16 | 64 |
| Columbia |
7 | 8 | 20 | 19 | 54 |
| Stat Comparison | ||
|---|---|---|
| Category | Penn | Columbia |
| FGM-A | 25-56 | 20-53 |
| FG% | 44.6% | 37.7% |
| 3FGM-A | 2-11 | 2-10 |
| 3FG% | 18.2% | 20.0% |
| FTM-A | 12-16 | 12-15 |
| FT% | 75.0% | 80.0% |
| Rebounds | 39 | 28 |
| Assists | 7 | 7 |
| Turnovers | 12 | 12 |
| Blocks | 9 | 0 |
| Steals | 7 | 3 |
| Individual Leaders | ||
|---|---|---|
| Category | Penn | Columbia |
| Points | Princess Aghayere (21) | Camille Zimmerman (28) |
| Rebounds | Michelle Nwokedi (9) | Camille Zimmerman (7) Tori Oliver (7) |
| Assists | Anna Ross (3) | Tori Oliver (2) Emily Surloff (2) |
| Steals |
Kasey Chambers (4) |
Camille Zimmerman (2) |
| Blocks |
Michelle Nwokedi (4) |
None |
NEW YORK — Junior Camille Zimmerman scored a game-high 28 points, but it wasn't enough for the Columbia women's basketball to upset Ivy League-leading Penn, 64-54, Friday night at Levien Gymnasium.
Columbia (12-8, 2-5 Ivy) scored just 15 first-half points and dug itself a 22-point deficit, 37-15, when Penn (13-6, 6-0 Ivy) scored the first four points of the second half. Behind their Ivy League Player of the Year candidate, the Lions chipped away. They scored the final five points of the third quarter and ended an 8-0 run with a Zimmerman 3-ball that made it a 10-point game, 48-38, just seconds into the fourth quarter.
The Quakers stemmed the tide, holding Columbia to just six points over the next seven minutes to rebuild an 18-point lead. The Lions made one last push, outscoring Penn 10-2 over the final 2:48, but ran out of time.
“When things don't go our way, we struggle to stop the bleeding,” said head coach Megan Griffith '07CC. “Once we started to feel good about ourselves in the second half, our defense got better and our offense picked back up. It was a good effort in the second half and this will give us a lot to build on.”
Columbia outscored Penn 39-31 in the second half, hit 13 of 27 (48.1 pct.) field goals and outrebounded the Quakers 15-13. However, it came after shooting just 7 of 26 (26.9 pct.) in the first half, where the Lions also got doubled up on the glass, 26-13.
“I think we realized [In the second half] we can compete with some of the best in the Ivy League and take them out of their stuff,” Griffith added. “It's not complicated in the game of basketball. If we build good habits, we'll be in a better place the next time we see [Penn].”
Zimmerman ended the night 12 of 24 from the field to register her 15th 20-point game of the season. The Tempe, Arizona, native added team-highs of seven rebounds and two steals. Senior Tori Oliver matched Zimmerman on the glass and senior Devon Roeper scored eight points to go with four rebounds.
For Penn, Princess Aghayere scored a game-high 21 points off the bench on 9 of 11 shooting. Reigning Ivy League Player of the Week Michelle Nwodeki scored 12 points and was one rebound shy of a double-double. Anna Ross completed a trio of double-figure scorers with 11.
Penn scored the game's first six points, but Columbia answered with seven straight to take what would be its only lead of the night. Koerner got the Lions on the board, followed by five straight for Zimmerman, including a 3-point play, to make it a 7-6 game with 4:43 left in the opening quarter.
Columbia did not score the rest of the period and Penn took a 12-7 lead into the second. The Quakers added the first four points of the second quarter to complete a 10-0 run and scored 10 of the half's final 12 points for a 33-15 advantage at the intermission.
The deficit grew to 20 on Penn's opening possession of the second half and to as many as 22 just two minutes in. Columbia's surge began with a bucket by Oliver, using a 7-2 spurt to get back within 15. Penn held its ground for a little while before Columbia scored the final five points of the quarter, using a 3-point play from Koerner and another foul with just 0.3 seconds to go in the period to make a game of it.
Zimmerman's triple to open the fourth quarter sparked life into Levien Gymnasium. However, Penn's defense, which came into the night ranked No. 3 nationally in points allowed (51.5), held the Lions to 54 points, which was enough to walk away with the win.
Columbia completes the home weekend Saturday at 6 p.m. against Princeton. It will be Columbia's annual Play4Kay game, with 50 percent of ticket sales and all in-game donations benefitting the Kay Yow Cancer Fund.
Postgame Notes:
- Camille Zimmerman recorded her 15th 20-point game and extended her double-figure scoring streak to 20 games.
- Zimmerman's 28 points pushed her season total to 442, besting her previous single-season-high of 417 from her sophomore campaign.
- The 10-point margin of victory was Penn's slimmest over Columbia since February of 2014 in New York.
- Columbia was outrebounded for the first time all season, 39-28.
